Diego Costa and Gabriel square up before the Arsenal defender's sending off Getty Images

Former Arsenal boss George Graham has warned Diego Costa he faces being targeted by officials after his indiscretions in Chelsea's 2-0 win over the Gunners on Saturday.

Graham is adamant the Spain striker should have been sent off for bumping the chest of Laurent Koscielny and raising his hands to the Frenchman's face in the first half at Stamford Bridge before Gunners defender Gabriel saw red for retaliation.

Although Costa got away with only a yellow card, Graham says referees are now likely to seek to ensure he does not escape stricter punishment in future.

Graham told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek: "I think (Costa) is going to be targeted man now by the officials and probably rightly so.

"(Didier) Drogba was the main (Chelsea) man for nearly 10 years and he was very, very physical but he didn't take to the extremes that Costa has taken it to.

"Although you've got to keep that physical intensity, once you step over the mark he's got to be dealt with by officials, it's as simple as that - and I think he will be."

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0 player ratings

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0 player ratings

1/22
Asmir Begovic, Chelsea

Saved Walcott’s 28th-minute effort and provided a strong presence in goal throughout the game. 7

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2/22
Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea

Put in an improved showing after being rested against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The right-back was tested by Sanchez’s pace regularly but often did enough to track back and stop the Arsenal winger from causing too much damage although it earned him a yellow card. 6

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3/22
Kurt Zouma, Chelsea

The Frenchman was superb at the heart of Chelsea’s defence and again, like against Maccabi, worked well with Cahill. After firing a speculative shot high in the 36th minute, Zouma scored the opener with a fine header at the near post. 8

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4/22
Gary Cahill, Chelsea

Provided leadership at the back and was never afraid of coming out to clear his lines - indeed it was Cahill who worked well with Zouma to snuff out Sanchez’s 59th-minute run as Arsenal looked for the equaliser. 8

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5/22
Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea

Was never really troubled by Ramsey and looked comfortable back in his left-back position after being utilised at right-back against Maccabi. 7

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6/22
Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea

Looked invigorated against his former side after scoring a goal in the Champions League on Wednesday, and delivered the free-kick that Zouma scored from. The midfielder also showed how important he can be in setting up attacks with a superb lofty ball to Pedro just after the half-hour mark. 7

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7/22
Nemanja Matic, Chelsea

Protected Chelsea’s back line well and provided a good defensive body in the middle of the park although he made a few sloppy passes in the match. 6

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8/22
Oscar, Chelsea

The Brazilian enjoyed another good game from his central position and worked the lines well to help build up Chelsea’s attacks. 6

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9/22
Pedro, Chelsea

Came back into the starting line-up after recovering from a minor thigh strain and, while the winger wasn’t as effective as he has been in previous outings, he tried his best to score with several shots at goal. 5

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10/22
Eden Hazard, Chelsea

Had an early penalty appeal turned down, but the Belgian’s pace gave Bellerin work to do on the left before his powerful shot in the 90th minute deflected off Chambers and into the back of the net to make it 2-0. 7

11/22
Diego Costa, Chelsea

The striker was undoubtedly the main controversial figure of the clash. While he was Chelsea’s main threat up front as he regularly pulled Arsenal’s defenders out of position with his runs, he should have been sent off for striking Koscielny’s face and then chesting him down to the pitch after being confronted by the Frenchman. Costa later provoked Gabriel enough to see him be sent off, which turned the game around. However, put in a good showing for the home side. 6

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12/22
Petr Cech, Arsenal

The goalkeeper looked at ease despite playing at his former stomping ground and made several saves to keep his side in the contest until Zouma scored. May feel he could have done more to try and stop the Chelsea defender’s header. 6

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13/22
Hector Bellerin, Arsenal

The right-back had a busy afternoon trying to contain the threat of Hazard but often used his speed to stop the Belgian from wreaking havoc. However, he could have given away a second-half penalty for his challenge on Costa just inside the area. 6

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14/22
Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal

The defender lost Zouma in the build-up to the opener, but admirably did not react to Costa striking his face. 6

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15/22
Gabriel, Arsenal

Was needlessly sent off just before the break for swinging his leg at Costa after a confrontation with the striker, which reduced Arsenal to 10 men and turned the game on its head. The defender could have done better not to react to Costa’s goading but defended well otherwise. 4

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16/22
Nacho Monreal, Arsenal

The left-back snuffed out some early Chelsea chances, first doing enough to stop Costa as he attacked and then pressurising Pedro into hesitating with only Cech to beat. But he found it harder to defend as well as he had in the first half when Arsenal went down to 10 and then nine men. 7

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17/22
Francis Coquelin, Arsenal

Played an important role in clearing the danger just in front of Arsenal’s defence in the first half but came off. 7

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18/22
Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal

Never really troubled Azpilicueta on the right flank, and his best moment to score came when he was set up by Ozil just before the break - but he hesitated which led to Arsenal’s fine counter-attack collapsing. 5

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19/22
Santi Cazorla, Arsenal

Was shown his second yellow card of the afternoon and subsequently sent off for a reckless tackle on Fabregas in the 79th minute which reduced Arsenal to nine men after having been cautioned for an earlier foul on Pedro. 4

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20/22
Mesut Ozil, Arsenal

Made a fine run to set up Ramsey on the counter but, other than that, could not work his way past Chelsea’s stubborn defence. Was taken off in the 75th minute. 5

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21/22
Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal

He tested Ivanovic with his pacey runs down the left flank several times during the game, but was marked well when going on the attack. Substituted in the 74th minute. 5

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22/22
Theo Walcott, Arsenal

Wenger started the 26-year-old up front as the lone striker and although he was a threat early on – indeed he forced Begovic into a save in the 28th minute with his low shot – he could not get the better of Zouma and Cahill to score. 6

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But Graham also suggested Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ought to be stricter with his own players, with Santi Cazorla's second-half dismissal taking the number of Gunners players dismissed in the Premier League to 79.

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Graham added: "(Wenger) is not the most strict manager and he really needs to get hold of his own players because there's no way he (Gabriel) should have been sent off - it's his own stupidity that got him sent off and they've got to handle that.

"(But) Arsene does it his way and look at the record he has got in English football - he has been instrumental in getting a certain way of playing, the diet - he's brought all these things and trophies as well so how can you fault him?"